Fall is an exciting time in Stillwater! Fall sports, fairs and a number of family-oriented activities moving us from a hotter time of year. It was also time for our fall MOAA meeting of the Cimarron Chapter. We met September 19 at Smokey Joe’s Bar B Q, a new location for us! Staying with our theme of excellent speakers, we enjoyed the presentation by OSU alumnus and retired Air Force Major Kevin Gerfen, as reported in the following story. We, also, continue to give attention to our many Veterans that live here in Payne County. If you know a former warrant or commissioned officer from any of the branches of service, why not ask them to be your special guest at our next meeting?
Floyd Branson, President Cimarron Chapter MOAA
Cimarron Chapter Holds Third 2023 Meeting
The MOAA Cimarron Chapter held its third meeting of the year on September 19 in Stillwater at the Smokin’ Joes BBQ. The guest speaker, retired Air Force Major Kevin Gerfen, an OSU Air Force ROTC graduate, reviewed his duties as a White House Social Aide from 1991 to 1994 to President and Mrs. George H. W. Bush and then President and Mrs. Bill Clinton. After attending OSU, Gerfen was selected for the Post-Graduate Intelligence Program and earned an MSSI at the Defense Intelligence Agency’s National Intelligence University in 1994. His last assignment was as an Air Force ROTC instructor at OSU from 1997 to 2000.
The next meeting date for the chapter is November 28, with a location to be announced.
Below, retired Air Force Major Kevin Gerfen is shown with President Bill Clinton in the White House.
Below, featured guests at the meeting were Lt. Col. Michael Cheatham (left), the new Air Force ROTC commander at OSU, and MOAA Oklahoma State Council President Dennis Clippinger, retired Army Reserve lieutenant colonel.
If you have not payed your 2023 dues, please due so (pun intended) by $30 check, made out to “Cimarron Chapter MOAA”, and bring your check in person and present it to Richard at the next meeting. If you wish to join The National MOAA, please access their website at (MOAA.org) for information concerning membership. No need to RSVP, hope to see you there!
Oklahoma City Dodgers Host Military/Veterans Appreciation Suite
The Dodgers are looking for 16 to 20 deserving military and or veteran families to watch games from the Military/Veterans Appreciation Suite. Tickets, food and non-alcoholic drinks are included.
For more information or to request tickets, contact the Department of Oklahoma Veterans at vfwokadi@outlook.com.
Veteran, Write Your Story
As a military veteran, you can provide a service to your family, community, and country by completing this questionnaire developed for high school students to interview their veteran family members. You have probably thought your family, for example, would not be at all interested in your military service; but, you probably would be surprised how well they could receive this questionnaire from you, completed with a little thought. With fewer members of our society having served in the military, it can safely be said that today little is understood of the real nature of military service. Hollywood is a poor substitute for the recollections of real veterans. The questionnaire makes it easy to respond with answers that provide meaningful insight into what it means to be a veteran. Download, and complete it today for your children and grandchildren (it is in rich text format and you can type directly into the document). If you are the spouse of a veteran, encourage him or her to do this special thing for their descendants for Veterans Day. It could be passed along for generations to come.